meet Leann Harris

Barbara Harrison aka Leann Harris

When Barbara was first introduced to her husband in college she knew she would never date the man. He was a graduate student getting a PhD in physics, and Barbara had purposely taken a second year of biology in high school to avoid taking physics. So much for first impressions. They have been married thirty-seven years and still approach life from very different angles.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Barbara taught math and science to deaf high school students for a couple of years until the birth of her first child. When her youngest child started school, Barbara decided to fulfill a life-long dream and began writing.

She is a former president of the Dallas Area Romance Writers (DARA) and founding member. She also is an active member in her local ACFW chapter. Barbara presently lives in Plano, Texas with her husband. Hidden Deception, her eleventh novel, will be out October.

At the time, Lilly Burkstrom brushed aside her ex-husband's words. Then he dies—"accidentally"—in a convenience store robbery, and she starts to wonder. Turning to the police doesn't help. They don't see the danger closing in on her, not even when someone breaks into her house and her ex-husband's apartment. Only Detective Jonathan Littledeer understands her fears, having lost his own family. He's determined to keep the single mom safe. He's not going to let another "accident" claim Lilly or her daughter before he can bring the killer's guarded secrets to light.

Here is an excerpt of Guarded Secrets :

Guarded SecretsThe door stood ajar, and panic raced through her veins. She’d locked her ex-husband’s apartment door after retrieving his clothes for the funeral.

“Mom, did you forget to lock the door? You know Daddy always made me-” Tears clogged Penny’s throat.

Lilly Burkstrom pulled her daughter into her arms.

“I don’t understand, Mom,” Penny sobbed into her mother’s waist. “Why did Daddy have to die?”

It was a question Lilly asked herself. Peter had been murdered in a convenience store robbery gone bad.

It didn’t make much sense to her, a twenty-nine-year-old woman, so how could she expect her eight-year-old daughter to understand it?

“I don’t know, sweetie. I know you miss him. I do, too.”

Penny hugged her with a desperate intensity. “You won’t leave me, will you?” She looked up, her huge brown eyes glistening with tears.

Lilly’s heart broke. She wiped the wetness from her daughter’s cheeks. “No I won’t.” Although she and Peter had been divorced almost since Penny’s birth, they had come to terms with their failed marriage and had become friends. Peter’s recent salvation had changed all their lives. “I can take you home and do this by myself.”

Penny wiped away her tears and stepped back. “I want to help.”

Lilly pushed the door all the way open and peered inside. The condition of the apartment shocked her.

Penny gasped. “Mom, what happened?”

Lilly’s gazed swept the living room, dining room, and kitchen. It looked as if a tornado had ripped through the place, throwing things everywhere. Chairs and end tables had been tossed on their sides. The sofa had been turned over, and the cushions ripped and thrown around the room. The kitchen cabinets stood open; boxes of cereal and spaghetti spilled out from the shelves. Broken dishes and glasses littered the countertops and floor.

“I don’t know. Three days ago, when she’d been inside this apartment to get one of Peter’s suits for the funeral, everything was fine.

“I wonder if Dad’s bedroom is this way.” Penny started down the short hall.

A loud noise came from the bedroom.

Penny froze. When she turned her head, her frightened gaze met Lilly’s.

Lilly motioned for her daughter to come toward her. Penny turned and ran to her mother. Lilly rushed them out of the apartment and down the stairs. They retreated to Lilly’s car and Lilly whipped out her cell phone.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

“I need to report a burglary.”

Barbara sent me a copy of Guarded Secrets and I had the pleasure of reading it before having it in the spotlight today. Let me tell you, I was hooked from the first sentences clear through to the last sentence. I. loved. it!

Guarded Secrets starts fast by throwing you right into the thick of things. The characters are full of life and I quickly came to care about them. I loved the romance and I the suspense kept me turning pages as fast as I could--and the work I had to do? It waited. :] I'm looking forward to reading Guarded Secrets again, too! You don't want to miss this one. :]

Barbara is giving away a copy of Guarded Secrets. To be entered in the book giveaway, you must be have as US address. Leave a comment and check back on Sunday, October 18th to see if you've won. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment, otherwise, you can just check back and email me through the button in my sidebar.

Since Patty quit running from God's call on her life and surrendered her pen to Him, she's been happy. Life is never dull as she juggles being a wife, mom to a handful of kids and a couple of Capuchin monkeys, life on the road, and being a writer. As long as she's obeying God's leading, she figures that sanity is a novelty and not a necessity in the zoo she lives in. Patty clings to the promise that God will enable her to do what He asks of her, otherwise she would be living with the scaredy cats at the Funny Farm and not just occasionally visiting. You can find her on Instagram, too, where she daily sneaks in a few sane moments.